245736: What is the ruling on doing tawaf and sa‘i in the electric scooters in the Haram?

Brief

What is the ruling on doing sa‘i in the electric scooters in the Haram for a young person who is able to walk and is in good health, and he has no excuse that would prevent him from walking? Is the reward of one who does sa‘i walking the same as the reward of one who does sa‘i riding on a scooter? Or does walking bring a greater reward?

Published Date: 2017-08-04

Praise
be to Allah

Firstly:

Most of the
scholars are agreed that doing tawaf and sa‘i walking is better and
preferable to doing them riding.

Ibn Qudaamah
said: There is no difference of opinion regarding the fact that doing tawaf
on foot – that is, walking – is preferable, because the Companions of the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did tawaf walking, and
other than in the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) did tawaf walking.

End quote from
al-Mughni (5/250).

Secondly:

They are agreed
that it is permissible for one who has an excuse to do tawaf and sa‘i
riding, whether the excuse has to do with sickness, disability, hardship,
old age or the like.

That is because
of the hadith of Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: I
complained to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) that I was sick, and he said: “Do tawaf behind the people, riding.”
[Agreed upon]

Al-Haafiz said:
This indicates that it is permissible to do tawaf riding, if that is done
because of a valid excuse. He only told her to do tawaf behind the people
because that would be more concealing for her, and also so that she would
not interrupt their rows and so that they would not be disturbed by her
mount. End quote from Fath al-Baari (3/481).

Ibn Taymiyah
said: It is permissible to do tawaf riding or being carried, when there is
an excuse for that, according to the religious texts and scholarly
consensus.

End quote from
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (26/188).

And he said: If
a person is not able to do tawaf walking, so he does tawaf riding or whilst
being carried, that is acceptable, according to scholarly consensus.

End quote from
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (26/125).

Thirdly:

With regard to
doing tawaf or sa‘i riding when there is no excuse for that, this is a
matter concerning which there is a difference of opinion among the scholars.

The Shaafa‘is
and Zaahiris are of the view that the tawaf and sa‘i of one who rides is
valid in all cases, because what is required is to circumambulate the Ka‘bah
and to go between as-Safa and al-Marwah, and no matter how it is done,
whether walking or riding, that fulfils what is required.

Moreover, al-Bukhaari
(1530) and Muslim (1272) narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased
with him) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did
tawaf during the Farewell Pilgrimage on a camel.

The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) only did that for a reason, which
was so that the people would be able to see him and ask him questions.

In Saheeh
Muslim (1273) it is narrated that Jaabir said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) circumambulated the House during
the Farewell Pilgrimage, on his mount, touching the Stone with his crooked
staff, so that the people could see him and so that he could see them, and
so that they could ask him questions, for the people had crowded around him.

An-Nawawi said:
This explains the reason why he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
was riding.

End quote from
Sharh Saheeh Muslim (9/19).

With regard to
the report narrated in Sunan Abi Dawood (1881) via Yazeed ibn Abi
Ziyaad, from ‘Ikrimah, from Ibn ‘Abbaas, that the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was sick when he came to Makkah,
so he did tawaf on his mount, it is a da‘eef (weak) report that cannot be
relied upon to explain that the reason why he rode was because he was ill.

Imam ash-Shaafa‘i
said: Jaabir narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) that he did tawaf riding, and he said that he only did that so that the
people could see him. This indicates that he did not do tawaf [riding]
because he was sick, and I do not know that he (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) fell sick during that pilgrimage of his.

End quote from
al-Umm (3/443)

Ibn ‘Abbaas
said: The people had crowded around the Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him), saying, This is Muhammad, this is Muhammad,
until even the adolescent girls came out of their houses. People were not
beaten to make way for the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him), so when they crowded around him too much, he rode, but walking
and walking rapidly are better. Narrated by Muslim (1264).

This view was
favoured by Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him). He
was asked about someone who rode in tawaf or sa‘i without needing to do so;
what should he do?

He said: His
tawaf is valid and his sa‘i is valid, because the Prophet did tawaf [riding]
when he was in good health. As for the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbaas which says that
he [the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)] fell sick and
that is why he rode, it is da‘eef (weak), because its isnad includes Yazeed
ibn Abi Ziyaad. The correct view is that he rode in order to ward off
hardship from the people, lest they be harmed or harm him [as they crowded
around him]. End quote. [Side A of tape 4 of the shaykh’s commentary on
Kitaab al-Manaasik [the chapter of pilgrimage rituals] from Akhbaar
al-Mustafa salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

The majority of
scholars are of the view that it is not allowed to do tawaf and sa‘i riding
when there is no excuse. Some of them stated that a fidyah is required if a
person does that and is not able to repeat it; others regard the tawaf and
sa‘i as invalid and say that they must be repeated, as is the view of the
Hanbalis.

Ibn al-Jawzi
said: They differed concerning one who does tawaf riding with no excuse.
There are two reports from Ahmad, one of which is that it is acceptable and
he does not have to offer a compensatory sacrifice; this is also the view of
ash-Shaafa‘i.

The other view
is that it is not acceptable.

Abu Haneefah and
Maalik said: It is acceptable, but he must offer a sacrifice. End quote from
Kashf al-Mushkil min Hadith as-Saheehayn (2/433).

Ibn Qudaamah
said: As for doing tawaf whilst riding or being carried, with no excuse,
what may be understood from the words of al-Khiraqi is that it is not
acceptable. This is one of the views narrated from Ahmad… because it is an
act of worship that is connected to the Ka‘bah, so it is not acceptable to
do it whilst riding with no excuse, like prayer. The second view is that it
is acceptable, but a compensatory sacrifice must be offered. This is also
the view of Maalik and Abu Haneefah. Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudaamah
(5/250).

The ruling on
sa‘i and tawaf is the same, according to the majority of scholars. Al-Mardaawi
said: Doing sa‘i whilst riding is like doing tawaf whilst riding, according
to the more correct view of the madhhab. End quote from al-Insaaf
(4/13).

Conclusion:

The person who
does tawaf and sa‘i should do them walking, unless he has an excuse. That is
preferable according to scholarly consensus. If he does tawaf or sa‘i whilst
riding with no excuse, then we have explained above that there is a
difference of scholarly opinion concerning that.

What appears to
be the case is that his tawaf and sa‘i are valid, in sha Allah.

However, it is
not appropriate for a person to do that in the first place, so as to be on
the safe side with regard to his worship, and so as to avoid a matter
concerning which the scholars differed.

Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Some people are careless
regarding that, and they do sa‘i in wheelchairs with no excuse, even though
many of the scholars have said that doing sa‘i whilst riding is not valid
without any excuse.

This matter is a
matter concerning which the scholars differed, namely: with regard to sa‘i,
is it stipulated that the individual must do it walking unless he has an
excuse, or is it not?

But the
individual should be prudent with regard to religious matters, and he should
do sa‘i walking so long as he is able to do so, and if he is not able to do
that, then Allah does not burden any soul with more than it can bear.